For the first time in a dozen seasons, the Russellville Cyclones will have a new head basketball coach prowling the sidelines next season, though fans will still see a familiar face.

Despite interviewing more than 20 applicants from across the country, athletic director Jim Dickerson decided the best man for the job was longtime assistant Codey Mann, and the Russellville School Board approved the hire Thursday night.

"After all the reading through applications, after the interviews and after talking to people, it just came down to it that we felt that Codey Mann has more to offer," Dickerson said. "He has the energy, the drive and the knowledge of the dynamics in Russellville to do the job, and move us along the path on which we need to go."

Mann, who is originally from Fort Smith, said he actually feels better Russellville athletic officials interviewed other candidates before hiring him after the lengthy and thorough search. Former coach Joe Sitkowski turned in his letter of resignation nearly a month ago.

"I feel really good about the process," Mann, who's been with the district for seven years, said. "I feel more like I deserved the job because they went out and interviewed a number of other candidates and came back to me and told me I was the best guy for the job. That makes you feel good about yourself."

It didn't take long for Dickerson to be reminded why he chose Mann. The athletic director, who coached the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns from the 1982-83 season until 1986-87, said no sooner than he informed Mann of the school's decision, the new coach began laying out his plans.

"When I called him and told him (he'd been hired), he said, 'Here's some things I want to do,'" Dickerson said. "That's just how he is. He just has that drive, that desire to start improving right now. He wants them to get better, and that's what we want, what the parents want and what the kids want: To improve and be better tomorrow than they are today."

The new coach said that he owes a lot to his friend and mentor Sitkowski, who Mann said has led him along and taught him a lot about coaching.

"I want to thank Joe. I want to say that," he said. "Joe has been like a big brother, a mentor to me throughout the seven years we've worked together. I have learned a great deal about basketball and about life from Joe."

Mann said he plans to turn basketball into a year-round sport for the Cyclones by taking them to play in spring tournaments -the coach said he wants them to play in 10 by the end of the year - and throughout the summer. He said that Cyclone Gym would be open five days a week during the summer.

"One thing is we need to be tough mentally and physically," Mann said. "So, the two most important things we need to do is play and hit the weight room."

Mann said Russellville fans will see some changes to the product on the court in 2011-12. Defense will be key for the Cyclones, and they'll trade in their match-up zone for a tough, pressing man-to-man look that will maximize their speed and can help compensate for their height disparity.

Offensively, Mann said the Cyclones will have a similar look to their female counterparts.

"We're going to run a pretty similar offense to what (Lady Cyclones head coach) Steve Wiedower does," he said. "We kind of implemented that late in the year last year. It's a five-out motion, where a player hangs out in the post for a second and then pops out."

He said the team will learn "how to play basketball." He doesn't want his team to have to look to the bench for direction on every offensive possession; he wants them to push it up the floor and try for transition buckets.

"I'm ready to give it to them and let them play ball," he said.

He'll have an experienced group to work with in his first season. Two of the Cyclones top scorers last season, guard Grey Harris (15 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and point guard Chris Washington (12 ppg, 5 apg) return, along with Eric Turner, another starter.

"This will be an easy transition for them, because I have been able to coach them some during practice and games," Mann said.

Mann said there's a lot of talent moving up through the junior high ranks that will help make his job easier.

"We have some good classes with some excellent basketball players that we're real excitement about," he added. "I'm extremely excited and am ready to get to work."